Division III

Women's Basketball

Amherst Athletics | December 13, 2013

Dual double-doubles earn Amherst a win

AMHERST, Mass. -- Megan Robertson and Marley Giddins recorded double-doubles to lead fourth-ranked Amherst to an 86-73 win against Bridgewater State on Thursday at LeFrak Gymnasium.

With the win, the Jeffs (8-0) extended their home winning streak to 92 consecutive games, dropping Bridgewater State to 5-3 overall.

The Jeffs held a two-point lead at halftime 41-39 but pulled away late in regulation to grab the double-digit win. Giddins scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers and pulled in 11 boards. She also dished out three assists and blocked three shots. Robertson added another double-double to her resume, recording 18 points with 14 rebounds while blocking four shots. The junior moved into eighth all-time in the Amherst women’s basketball record books with 615 career rebounds and third in blocks with 150.

Two others scored in double figures for the Jeffs, Cheyenne Pritchard and Jaimie Renner with 15 and 12, respectively. Pritchard had a stellar day in purple and white, recording career-highs in points and assists (6). Pritchard, a sophomore, was also credited with four steals. She was 3-for-5 from downtown and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Hannah Peterson added seven points and grabbed a season-high seven boards. As a team, Amherst shot 58.3 percent from behind-the-arc and outscored the Bears bench, 30 to 7.

The first half featured strong play on both sides of the court as baskets were exchanged often. Amherst led for most of the first 20 minutes and grabbed their largest lead of the half during a 5-0 run as Pritchard hit one from downtown followed by a lay-up from Giddins to give the Jeffs a 30-23 lead with 9:30 remaining before the break.

However, the Bears retaliated and went on a run of their own, scoring six unanswered points to cut the deficit to one following a Boutilette lay-up.

Amherst maintained its lead the rest of the way and entered the break ahead, 41-39. Despite being outscored 30-12 in the paint, the Jeffs shot 5-of-6 from three-point range to hold the advantage.

The home team came out hot to start the second half with a Peterson three followed by a lay-up from Robertson to give them a quick seven-point advantage, forcing a Bridgewater State timeout.

With just under 13 minutes remaining in regulation, Rachel Kusz completed a three-point play and Homich registered a lay-up on their next possession to tie the game at 53-53.

However, Amherst went on a 16-6 run during the next four minutes to take a 10-point lead and never looked back.